Gunpowder and Lead
by resident vampire
Summary: Naruto has spent what feels like forever looking for Sasuke. What happens when he finally finds him? T to be safe. Yaoi, NaruSasuNaru


The sky was gray, just as the weatherman had predicted. Naruto sighed as he glanced upward, praying that it wouldn't rain. Not now. Not when he was finally so close to finding him. He ducked his head and ran down the alley between the two warehouses, listening to the static crackle of his fellow searchers in his ear.

"The target just entered building five from the west. Repeat: building five from the west. Eyes sharp everybody." Sakura's commanding voice rang through his headset, the shrillness of it making Naruto wince.

"I'm just rounding the corner of building four, Sakura. I'll be right there." He replied.

"Copy. Be careful, Naruto. I know how _you_ feel, but he might not be the same." Sakura warned quietly.

"I know." Gritting his teeth, he grabbed his gun out of its holster and pulled it close to his ear. He peered around the corner of building four, making sure that the coast was clear before rounding the corner. Seeing nobody, he edged down the side of the building, praying to God that Sasuke didn't have anybody watching out for him from the adjacent warehouses. He ran to the doorway of building five, slipping and sliding on the wet asphalt. He glanced into the window, trying desperately to catch a sight of Sasuke. The place was empty. He quietly opened the door and stepped inside.

"_I still say I wanna go to the 'Beyond section.'" Naruto received a glare as Sakura ushered him out of the store, glancing upwards for patience. _

"_Naruto, it's Bed, Bath, and Beyond, meaning they have stuff other than bed and bath materials. Like kitchen utensils. Speaking of which, if you're not careful, I'm going to go back in there, buy a chef's knife, and kill you. Be quiet!" She huffed in aggravation. Despite the fact that Naruto was doing her a huge favor by coming with her to get stuff for her new apartment, he could be so annoying sometimes. She had needed a friend along to help her carry things. And what better person to do it than a guy? _

_Naruto grinned cheekily at her as they got in her car, and finally, finally headed home. _

Pushing open the door, Naruto quietly padded inside, shutting the door softly behind him. The warehouse, previously a lumber factory, was completely devoid of anything remotely close to something that he could hide behind should it come to a shootout. He winced again, thinking of the implications it if did. The walls were bare, save for a second level that wrapped around the upper half. A door was set into the far wall, and Naruto assumed that it led to the next warehouse over. Which was probably where Sasuke was, Naruto mused.

"Sakura?" he said quietly. "Sakura, respond."

"What is it?"

"He's not here," Naruto muttered. "there's a door set into the far wall that I'm pretty sure leads into the next warehouse. I'm going in."

"Copy that. And Naruto?" Sakura said. "The cops told me about two minutes ago that if they find Sasuke first, they have orders to shoot to kill. Find him first. Please." She shut the mike off, leaving Naruto frozen, her words echoing unpleasantly in the stillness. Shoot to kill? No!

_Throwing his keys on the counter, Naruto waved goodbye to Sakura and shut the door, sighing loudly. He enjoyed outings with Sakura, but the woman could be bossy at times. _

_He went over to his computer, logging on to his email. There was only one new message, but he deleted it without even looking at it. There were only two types of emails that he cared about: news about Sasuke, and more news about Sasuke. He was obsessed with finding him. _

_The phone rang loudly, and he jumped. He waited a few more rings, then decided he'd better answer. _

"_Hello?"_

"_Naruto!" Sakura's voice was even shriller than usual with her excitement. "They've got him! We've found him at last! He's at some warehouse down by the bay, but the cops have got him hemmed in. There's nowhere for him to go!" She paused to take a breath, and Naruto jumped in. _

"_They're sure it's him? Like, dead positive?" He wanted to hope, but the last time that Sakura had called like this it had turned out to be some bum, living in a trash can. Not Sasuke. _

"_They're absolutely sure this time, Naruto. Dead positive." _

"_Alright. I'll be there in five." He hung up the phone, grimacing. Sure, he wanted to find Sasuke, but this hunt was not going to be pleasant, and, if it did work out, he wasn't sure he could handle Sakura's gushing. _

Spying a staircase off to his right, he raced up the metal stairs, clanking loudly. He sprinted to the other side of the warehouse, not caring if Sasuke heard him anymore. It was about time the bastard got confirmation that Naruto was still chasing him.

Reaching the door, he wrenched it open and jumped through, not paying attention to his surroundings. The place could have been on fire for all he cared. He glanced around, looking for that familiar duck-butt hair, but this warehouse was, if at all possible, emptier than the last one. He descended the stairs that were off to his left, keeping a lookout the whole time. He did _not_ want to get shot because he was mistaken for a cop. Though why a cop would be wearing bright orange was beyond him. He looked around, confirming his earlier assessment of the building's utter emptiness.

"Dammit!" Naruto swore. "Sakura, he's not here. Where in seven hell's name did he get to?"

"We just saw him go into building four, Naruto. He's circled around behind you." She sounded worried.

"Huh? Why?"

"It's Sasuke. Who knows? Just be on your guard."

"Copy that. Over and out." He flipped his mike down and raced up the stairs to the other door, all caution and light feet. Ducking through the door that he had just so recently blasted through, he kept a careful lookout for any pale ninjas jumping out at him. He edged slowly down the side of the warehouse, keeping to the shadows. Jumping down to the first level, he looked all around him, seeing nobody.

"He's not here, Sakura."

"What? He HAS to be in there. We've got all the doors covered. Dammit. We're coming in, Naruto." she sighed in frustration.

The door at the far end of the warehouse burst open and ten armed men in black filed in, guns at the ready. Naruto shrugged, walking up to them, holstering his own gun.

"I don't get it. How did he get away this time?" Sakura was saying as he walked up. "Naruto, you know him better than anybody here. How does he DO this?!"

He grimaced, not missing her little stab. Yes, he was the raven's best friend, but that didn't mean he knew him anymore. He stifled his internal wish to cry. This was all so frustrating! "I don't know, Sakura. I just don't know." He ran a hand through his flyaway golden hair, his blue eyes troubled. "I say we just call it a day and let the prickly bastard spend another night in the cold." He turned and walked away, ignoring Sakura's protests, and headed to his car.

He drove home slowly, not paying attention to his surroundings. He got lost twice, each time noting that those were places where he had had a special moment with Sasuke. He started to cry as he headed up his street. He was so tired. So tired of having to jump up at every little mention of Sasuke's name. He missed him so bad that he could hardly see straight. It was hard to breathe without your best friend. He wanted to find him so bad that he didn't know what to do with himself when he wasn't actively hunting Sasuke. The uncertainty about his feelings for Sasuke, and how those feelings would be returned when Naruto found him (because he would, dammit), that he felt was so much that it floored him at times. He was ready to quit, just give up on life. Until he saw the car.

It was a sleek, black car, a Porsche, Naruto thought. He'd never been good with cars. He pulled into his driveway, next to the car that had stolen his usual spot. He did a once over on it, not seeing anything unusual about it, other than that it was probably worth more than his house. Somewhere deep down in his gut he knew, just knew, that it was Sasuke's. Drying the tears on his face, he felt the hope swell up inside him, and a huge smile lit his face.

He opened his door, and raced up the front porch steps. His front door was shut, locked. His grin faltered. Maybe the car was the neighbor's? He shook his head. No way Rock Lee was that rich.

He took out his key and opened the door, shutting it softly. The ridiculous part of his mind was wondering if Sasuke had made him Ramen. He let his keys fall onto the table in the hall, knowing he'd lose them if he put them there, and so totally not caring. He walked quietly down the hall, listening for the sounds of another person in the house. He searched through the entire downstairs area before he got frustrated again. Screw this. Why the hell was he creeping around his own home?

"Sasuke? Are you here? If you are, you'd better show yourself. I'm sick of creeping around my own house, wondering if you've finally come home." He felt ridiculous talking to the empty air, but he had to know.

A slight creak above him made him tense. So the bastard had gone upstairs, yes? Maybe to the bedroom? Naruto shut that thought down immediately. No sense in getting ahead of himself. He ran up the stairs, two at a time, thanking the dear lord in heaven that his normal klutziness didn't cause him to do a face plant. He rounded the corner at the top of the stairs cautiously, listening once again. He heard sounds from farther down the hall, towards the guest bedroom. The butterflies in his stomach flared up suddenly, contracting with a painful squeeze. He mentally shushed them, pulling out his gun. No sense in being an easy target.


End file.
